Recording medium, playback device, recording device, playback method and recording method for recording progressive pictures at high frame rate

Abstract

A recording medium on which video streams, control programs and index table are recorded. The video streams include video stream composed of progressive pictures and video stream composed of interlace pictures. The video stream composed of the progressive pictures has a mandatory rate or an optional rate. The index table indicates correspondence between titles and control programs. A control program corresponding to first play title and top menu title excludes a playback path, which specifies a playback of the progressive pictures in the video stream at the optional rate, from a playback target and instructs to perform a playback in accordance with another playback path.

The invention claimed is:  
     
       1. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which are recorded:
 an index table; 
 a plurality of digital streams respectively including a plurality of video streams; 
 a plurality of pieces of playlist information respectively defining a plurality of playback paths of the plurality of video streams; and 
 a plurality of control programs, wherein 
 the plurality of video streams include a video stream composed of progressive pictures and a video stream composed of interlace pictures, and the video stream composed of the progressive pictures has a mandatory rate or an optional rate, 
 the mandatory rate is a frame rate at which any playback device can decode and play back the progressive pictures, and the optional rate is a frame rate at which a limited types of playback devices can decode and play back the progressive pictures, 
 each of the plurality of control programs instructs a playback device to play back one of the plurality of video streams in accordance with one of the plurality of playback paths defined in the plurality of pieces of playlist information, 
 the index table indicates one-to-one correspondence between a plurality of titles and the plurality of control programs, the plurality of titles including a first play title and a top menu title, and 
 among the plurality of control programs, control programs corresponding to the first play title and the top menu title exclude a progressive-optional-rate playback path from a playback target, the progressive-optional-rate playback path being a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures in the video stream at the optional rate. 
 
     
     
       2. The recording medium of  claim 1 , wherein
 among the plurality of control programs, one or more control programs, which respectively correspond to one or more general titles that include neither the first play title nor the top menu title, instruct the playback device to play back the video stream composed of the progressive pictures at the optional rate, on a condition that the playback device has a capability to process the video stream composed of the progressive pictures at the optional rate. 
 
     
     
       3. The recording medium of  claim 1 , wherein
 a plurality of mask flags are recorded on the recording medium as corresponding to the plurality of titles, the plurality of mask flags each indicating whether or not a search operation for searching a corresponding title is prohibited, and 
 among the plurality of mask flags, one or more mask flags corresponding to one or more titles that instruct to play back the progressive pictures at the optional rate are set to indicate that search operations for searching the one or more titles are prohibited. 
 
     
     
       4. The recording medium of  claim 1 , wherein
 the progressive-optional-rate playback path includes a first-attribute playback section defined for a video stream that satisfies a condition of being composed of progressive pictures and having the optional rate, and in a case where the progressive-optional-rate playback path includes another playback section, a video stream defined by the another playback section is regarded to satisfy the condition, and information indicating presence of the first-attribute playback section is set in a playlist that includes one or more first-attribute playback sections. 
 
     
     
       5. The recording medium of  claim 1 , wherein
 the progressive-optional-rate playback path is a progressive-first-optional-rate playback path which is a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures at a first optional rate, and the plurality of playback paths defined in the playlist information include, as another type of playback path, a progressive-second-optional-rate playback path which is a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures at a second optional rate only within a predetermined geographical region, and 
 one of the plurality of control programs instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at the second optional rate, on a condition that the playback device has a capability to process the progressive-first-optional-rate playback path and a capability to process the progressive-second-optional-rate playback path. 
 
     
     
       6. The recording medium of  claim 1 , wherein
 when playing back the progressive-optional-rate playback path, each of the plurality of control programs judges whether or not a display device has a capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, and instructs the playback device to play back the progressive-optional-rate playback path, on a condition that the display device has the capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path. 
 
     
     
       7. The recording medium of  claim 1 , wherein
 a top menu displayed by the top menu title includes two or more button objects which correspond one-to-one to two or more titles and each receive a selection of a corresponding title on the top menu, 
 the two or more titles include a first-type title that instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at the optional rate and a second-type title that instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at a frame rate other than the optional rate or to play back the interlace pictures, and 
 a control program corresponding to the top menu title
 sets a button object corresponding to the first-type title among the two or more button objects to an enable state when the playback device has a capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, and 
 sets the button object corresponding to the first-type title to a disable state when the playback device does not have the capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path. 
 
 
     
     
       8. A playback device comprising:
 a reading unit configured to read an index table from a recording medium; 
 a current number register storing a current title number which is a title number of a current title; 
 an execution unit configured to execute a control program which is indicated in the index table as corresponding to the current title; and 
 a playback unit configured to play back a video stream selected from a plurality of video streams as instructed by the execution unit, in accordance with one of a plurality of playback paths defined in playlist information, 
 wherein the plurality of video streams include a video stream composed of progressive pictures and a video stream composed of interlace pictures, and the video stream composed of the progressive pictures has a mandatory rate or an optional rate, 
 the mandatory rate is a frame rate at which any playback device can decode and play back the progressive pictures, and the optional rate is a frame rate at which a limited types of playback devices can decode and play back the progressive pictures, 
 the control program instructs the playback device to play back one of the plurality of video streams in accordance with one of a plurality of playback paths defined in a plurality of pieces of playlist information, 
 the index table indicates one-to-one correspondence between a plurality of titles and the plurality of control programs, the plurality of titles including a first play title and a top menu title, and 
 among the plurality of control programs, control programs corresponding to the first play title and the top menu title exclude a progressive-optional-rate playback path from a playback target, the progressive-optional-rate playback path being a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures in the video stream at the optional rate. 
 
     
     
       9. The playback device of  claim 8 , wherein
 among the plurality of control programs, one or more control programs, which respectively correspond to one or more general titles that include neither the first play title nor the top menu title, instruct the playback device to play back the video stream composed of the progressive pictures at the optional rate, on a condition that the playback device has a capability to process the video stream composed of the progressive pictures at the optional rate, 
 the playback device further comprising: 
 a player setting register indicating one or more capabilities of the playback device; and 
 a title management unit configured to, when the player setting register indicates that the playback device has a capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, set a title number of a title corresponding to the progressive-optional-rate playback path into the title number register in accordance with the control program executed by the execution unit. 
 
     
     
       10. The playback device of  claim 8  further comprising
 a receiving unit configured to receive a title search request from a user, 
 wherein a plurality of mask flags are recorded on the recording medium as corresponding to the plurality of titles, the plurality of mask flags each indicating whether or not a search operation for searching a corresponding title is prohibited, and 
 among the plurality of mask flags, one or more mask flags corresponding to one or more titles that instruct to play back the progressive pictures at the optional rate are set to indicate that search operations for searching the one or more titles are prohibited. 
 
     
     
       11. The playback device of  claim 8 , wherein
 the progressive-optional-rate playback path includes a first-attribute playback section defined for a video stream that satisfies a condition of being composed of progressive pictures and having the optional rate, and in a case where the progressive-optional-rate playback path includes another playback section, a video stream defined by the another playback section is regarded to satisfy the condition, and information indicating presence of the first-attribute playback section is set in a playlist that includes one or more first-attribute playback sections, 
 the playback device further comprising: 
 a playitem number register storing a current playitem number identifying a current piece of playitem information among a plurality of pieces of playitem information which respectively define a plurality of playback sections in one playback path; 
 a demultiplexing unit configured to demultiplex, from a digital stream, one or more elementary streams that are indicated in a stream selection table of the current piece of playitem information as being permitted to be played back; and 
 a video decoder configured to decode a video stream included in the one or more elementary streams. 
 
     
     
       12. The playback device of  claim 8 , wherein
 the progressive-optional-rate playback path is a progressive-first-optional-rate playback path which is a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures at a first optional rate, and the plurality of playback paths defined in the playlist information include, as another type of playback path, a progressive-second-optional-rate playback path which is a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures at a second optional rate only within a predetermined geographical region, 
 one of the plurality of control programs instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at the second optional rate, on a condition that the playback device has a capability to process the progressive-first-optional-rate playback path and a capability to process the progressive-second-optional-rate playback path, 
 the player setting register is a first capability register indicating whether or not the playback device has a capability to process the progressive pictures at the optional rate, 
 the playback device further comprises 
 a second capability register indicating whether or not the playback device has a capability to play back the progressive pictures at the second optional rate, and 
 when the playback device is instructed to play back the progressive pictures at the second optional rate, the playback unit plays back the progressive pictures at the second optional rate on a condition that the first capability register indicates that the playback device has the capability to process the progressive pictures at the optional rate and the second capability register indicates that the playback device has the capability to play back the progressive pictures at the second optional rate. 
 
     
     
       13. The playback device of  claim 8 , wherein
 the player setting register includes:
 a first capability register indicating whether or not the playback device has a capability to process the progressive pictures at the optional rate; and 
 a second capability register indicating whether or not a display device has a capability to display the progressive pictures at the optional rate, and 
 
 when the playback device is instructed to play back the progressive pictures at the optional rate, the playback unit plays back the progressive pictures at the optional rate on a condition that the first capability register indicates that the playback device has the capability to process the progressive pictures at the optional rate and the second capability register indicates that the display device has the capability to display the progressive pictures at the optional rate. 
 
     
     
       14. The playback device of  claim 8 , wherein
 a top menu displayed by the top menu title includes two or more button objects which correspond one-to-one to two or more titles and each receive a selection of a corresponding title on the top menu, 
 the two or more titles include a first-type title that instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at the optional rate and a second-type title that instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at a frame rate other than the optional rate or to play back the interlace pictures, 
 a control program corresponding to the top menu title
 sets a button object corresponding to the first-type title among the two or more button objects to an enable state when the playback device has a capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, and 
 sets the button object corresponding to the first-type title to a disable state when the playback device does not have the capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, and 
 
 the playback device further comprises: 
 a receiving unit configured to receive a user operation; and 
 a graphics decoder configured to decode a graphics stream and display a top menu including a plurality of buttons, and change the plurality of buttons in state in accordance with the user operation. 
 
     
     
       15. A recording device comprising:
 an encoder configured to obtain a plurality of digital streams respectively including a plurality of video streams by performing an encoding process; 
 a generating unit configured to generate a plurality of pieces of playlist information corresponding to the plurality of digital streams, a plurality of control programs, and an index table; and 
 a writing unit configured to write the plurality of digital streams, the plurality of pieces of playlist information, the plurality of control programs, and the index table onto a recording medium, 
 wherein the plurality of video streams include a video stream composed of progressive pictures and a video stream composed of interlace pictures, and the video stream composed of the progressive pictures has a mandatory rate or an optional rate, 
 the mandatory rate is a frame rate at which any playback device can decode and play back the progressive pictures, and the optional rate is a frame rate at which a limited types of playback devices can decode and play back the progressive pictures, 
 each of a plurality of control programs instructs the playback device to play back one of the plurality of video streams in accordance with one of the plurality of playback paths defined in the plurality of pieces of playlist information, 
 the index table indicates one-to-one correspondence between a plurality of titles and the plurality of control programs, the plurality of titles including a first play title and a top menu title, and 
 among the plurality of control programs, control programs corresponding to the first play title and the top menu title exclude a progressive-optional-rate playback path from a playback target, the progressive-optional-rate playback path being a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures in the video stream at the optional rate. 
 
     
     
       16. The recording device of  claim 15 , wherein
 the index table is generated to make one or more general titles that include neither the first play title nor the top menu title among the plurality of titles to correspond to one or more control programs which instruct the playback device to play back the video stream composed of the progressive pictures at the optional rate, on a condition that the playback device has a capability to process the video stream composed of the progressive pictures at the optional rate, and then the index table is written on the recording medium. 
 
     
     
       17. The recording device of  claim 15 , wherein
 a plurality of mask flags are recorded on the recording medium as corresponding to the plurality of titles, the plurality of mask flags each indicating whether or not a search operation for searching a corresponding title is prohibited, and 
 among the plurality of mask flags, one or more mask flags corresponding to one or more titles that instruct to play back the progressive pictures at the optional rate are set to indicate that search operations for searching the one or more titles are prohibited, and then the one or more mask flags are written on the recording medium. 
 
     
     
       18. The recording device of  claim 15 , wherein
 when writing the progressive-optional-rate playback path, which includes a first-attribute playback section defined for a video stream that satisfies a condition of being composed of progressive pictures and having the optional rate, onto the recording medium, when the progressive-optional-rate playback path includes another playback section, a video stream defined by the another playback section is regarded to satisfy the condition, and information indicating presence of the first-attribute playback section is set in a playlist that includes one or more first-attribute playback sections. 
 
     
     
       19. The recording device of  claim 15 , wherein
 the progressive-optional-rate playback path is a progressive-first-optional-rate playback path which is a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures at a first optional rate, and the plurality of playback paths defined in the playlist information include, as another type of playback path, a progressive-second-optional-rate playback path which is a playback path for playing back the progressive pictures at a second optional rate only within a predetermined geographical region, and 
 when a piece of playlist information defining the progressive-second-optional-rate playback path for playing back only within the predetermined geographical region is written onto the recording medium, a control program, which instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at the second optional rate on a condition that the playback device has a capability to process the progressive-first-optional-rate playback path and a capability to process the progressive-second-optional-rate playback path, is written onto the recording medium together with the piece of playlist information. 
 
     
     
       20. The recording device of  claim 15 , wherein
 each of the plurality of control programs is generated such that, when playing back the progressive-optional-rate playback path, each of the plurality of control programs judges whether or not a display device has a capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, and instructs the playback device to play back the progressive-optional-rate playback path, on a condition that the display device has the capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, and then the generated control programs are written onto the recording medium. 
 
     
     
       21. The recording device of  claim 15 , wherein
 a top menu displayed by the top menu title includes two or more button objects which correspond one-to-one to two or more titles and each receive a selection of a corresponding title on the top menu, 
 the two or more titles include a first-type title that instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at the optional rate and a second-type title that instructs the playback device to play back the progressive pictures at a frame rate other than the optional rate or to play back the interlace pictures, and 
 a control program, which sets a button object corresponding to the first-type title among the two or more button objects to an enable state when the playback device has a capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path and sets the button object corresponding to the first-type title to a disable state when the playback device does not have the capability to process the progressive-optional-rate playback path, is generated, and the generated control program is made to correspond to a top menu title in the index table, and then is written onto the recording medium.